Air force 16. 1 Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Proposal Submission Instructions

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Develop an operational version of the prototype that bridges any gaps remaining with the Phase II solution. The resulting system must be able to receive an ATO for disseminating collected weather data to the Air Force network. Demonstrate the proposed solution through exercises and test scenarios.

REFERENCES:

1. “Vaisala DigiCORA Sounding System MW31 for Meteorology & Climatology Datasheet,” http://www.vaisala.com/Vaisala%20Documents/Brochures%20and%20Datasheets/MW31-for-MET-Datasheet-B210361EN-E-LOW.pdf.

2. “DigiCORA III MW31 User’s Guide,” https://www.ncas.ac.uk/index.php/en/documents/amf/manuals/814-sounding-software/file.

3. Wind Profiler - Wikipedia Description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_profiler.

KEYWORDS: upper-air, meteorological, atmosphere, weather, sensor, sensing

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Information Systems

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Design and development of dual polarized high frequency (HF) antenna covering 3 to 30 MHz is required. Must support both transmit and receive functions with an instantaneous bandwidth of 10 MHz. Both ground and airborne antenna solutions are sought.

DESCRIPTION: The HF communications are well known for the ability to support very long range communications, including up to around the world under the right ionospheric conditions. The equipment is affordable and accessible. The data rates are very low compared to satellite communications. However, HF communications continue to be employed throughout the world. Recent technology advancements provide the ability to improve the throughput and increase the reliability of the communication channel.

The HF communications operates between 3 and 30 MHz. The HF signal refracts off the ionosphere, supporting communications from short to exceptionally long ranges (depending on the number of bounces off the ionosphere). The ionosphere has multiple layers (E and F layers) as well as X and O modes within a layer. The transmitted signal can propagate over multiple paths, and will therefore arrive at the receive site with varying delays. These delays introduce fading effects. To reduce the fading, the layers/modes are separated using both multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) techniques as well as dual circular polarization. In order to integrate this new capability into the HF radio, a new, dual polarized, efficient HF antenna is necessary.

The desired antenna will be capable of operating over the 3 to 30 MHz bandwidth, with a tunable instantaneous bandwidth of 10 MHz to support ionospheric sounding and frequency selection. The antenna must support both transmit and receive functions, with the ability to handle up to 200 watts of transmit power. The HF communication systems are deployed throughout the world. Therefore the antenna solution must be deployable, rugged in nature, with the ability to sustain both very low temperature as well as very high temperatures. Both ground and airborne antenna solutions are desired but performance standards for these antennas have not been finalized. Channel separation requirements, size and efficiency requirements are to be determined.

The government can provide data formats but not actual data for test transmission. There are no other planned government-furnished equipment items for Phase I of this contract.

PHASE I: A wideband dual polarized HF antenna design will be designed and simulated (threshold of ground based, with objective to include an airborne antenna). Performance metrics include polarization isolation, operational bandwidth and instantaneous bandwidth (assuming a VSWR of 3:1), power handing, size, efficiency, ruggedness. A prototype design will be developed and VSWR measurements collected.

PHASE II: Multiple antenna elements will be prototyped, deployed, and characterized through measurements under variable environmental conditions. Based upon deployed performance, the design will be optimized for sustained deployment. Alternative variants will be developed including a smaller design for mobile applications as well as an airborne antenna. .

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The Global ASNT program will evaluate the antenna for suitability for the Increment 2 fielding. Additionally, HF communications are used throughout DoD, including AFSOC, Navy shipboard, etc. The HF is an affordable communication technique for Arctic communications, both for DoD and commercially.

REFERENCES:

1. "On the Diversity in Multiantenna HF Communications," C. Peco, S. Zazo, I. Perez-Alvarez, and J. Lopez-Perez, Ionospheric Radio System and Techniques, 2009. (IRST 2009). The Institution of Engineering and Technology 11th International Conference on, Year: 2009, Pages 1-4.

2. "An Efficient Electrically Small Antenna at HF Band," A. Gupta, D. Grant, T. Fickenscher, and P. Karstadt, Microwave Conference Proceedings (APMC), 2011 Asia-Pacific, Year: 2011, Pages 856-859.

3. "Crossed Field Antennas," M.C. Hately, F.M. Kabbary, B.G. Stewart, Electrically Small Antennas, IEEE Colloquium on, Year: 1990, Pages 5/1-5/5.

KEYWORDS: high frequency, antenna, wideband, dual polarization

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Sensors

OBJECTIVE: Develop algorithms that emulate the human cognitive process to analyze 3D LIDAR data to identify areas of interest to cue human analysts for further analysis to reduce the analyst's workload.

DESCRIPTION: The intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) enterprise has not met its full effectiveness potential due to the massive data flows of ISR-class data produced by existing and emerging sensor suites. Significant efforts are being undertaken to speed the processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) of ISR sensor suite data. There is an important need to reduce the data-to-decision timelines. Processing efforts to date have concentrated primarily on passive electro-optical sensor systems that operate in the visible and infrared spectral regions. Both still imagery and full motion video PED has been the focus of research to achieve accelerated processing. The ISR data processing problem can be expected to worsen as such systems as 3D LIDAR wide area surveillance capabilities come on line. The objective of the research is to extend current approaches to image signal processing to include 3D LIDAR data and enable significant acceleration of the PED process for both passive and active electro-optical sensors suites.

One of the important techniques for future ISR data PED will be the current research efforts underway to develop algorithms that emulate how the human visual path processes imagery. In the human visual path, wide field of view, moderate resolution imagery produced by the eye is processed on the retina and in the early cortex to determine the presence of salient activities within the wide field of view. This processing relies on the spatial, temporal, and color content of the imagery and the definition of the salient features in the human visual path processor. If a sufficient high saliency value is determined the human visual path directs the high resolution fovea of the eye onto those regions and the high resolution data is passed into those regions of cortex which perform recognition. This Cognitive Processing Paradigm has been successfully demonstrated for passive visible and thermal sensors and for both still imagery and full motion video. Further, it has been successfully extended to hyperspectral data processing and exploitation as well.

The emerging 3D LIDAR imaging technology provides an additional and important dimension for detection and tracking of the full spectrum of targets and target activities of interest. The specific technical objective of this research is the extension of the Cognitive Processing Paradigm to include 3D LIDAR imagery. It is expected that the inclusion of the additional information provided by the 3D LIDAR sensor systems can be used to dramatically improve the accuracy and robustness of detection and tracking processing systems. The direct physical measurement of range to target and high resolution mapping of the 3D structure of candidate targets will enable the emulation of cognitive techniques to more closely approach the performance of the human visual system. By developing techniques for merging 3D LIDAR data with more traditional ISR data classes in an integrated cognitive processing paradigm, future PED capabilities will be significantly enhanced and ISR System effectiveness significantly increased.

The Air Force is looking for an open technology development that makes use of libraries such as Open Source Computer Vision (OpenCV) and Point Cloud Library (PCL). The proposer should consider implementations that will utilize parallel processing architectures for acceleration so the software will run on commodity central processing units CPU(s) and graphics processing units GPU(s).

PHASE I: Phase I will focus on the development of a technical foundation and algorithms for extending the cognitive processing paradigm to include 3D LIDAR data. The performance of the algorithms in terms of speed and accuracy should be evaluated on publicly available 3D data, and a proof-of-concept software will be delivered.

PHASE II: An integrated ISR sensor processing suite which combines 3D LIDAR with other multi-sensor data such as still imagery, full motion video, and hyperspectral imagery will be constructed. Extensive evaluation of the integrated system performance will be made using ISR data sets provided for this purpose. Results of this extensive evaluation will be used to define an operational integrated system, and a prototype implementation of the software suite will be delivered.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Military Application: Target detection and tracking, scene visualization, combat search and rescue. Commercial Application: Mapping and navigation, city development and planning, emergency response.

REFERENCES:

1. Beserra Gomes, Rafael, et al. "Efficient 3D Object Recognition Using Foveated Point Clouds." Computers & Graphics 37.5 (2013): 496-508.

2. Sun, Shaohui, and Salvaggio, Carl. "Aerial 3D Building Detection and Modeling From Airborne LIDAR Point Clouds." Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, IEEE Journal of 6.3 (2013): 1440-1449.

KEYWORDS: 3D LIDAR, 3D segmentation, target recognition

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Sensors

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) ATR capability for installation on-board the unmanned aerial system (UAS) or in a pod configuration along with the LIDAR sensor

DESCRIPTION: LIDAR sensors are under investigation for expanded intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) use with medium altitude UASs or the high altitude U-2. Typical uses include data collection for digital elevation maps and 3-D object definition. However, little work has been done with LIDAR automatic target recognition in near real time.

This project will develop a low SWaP ATR capability for installation on-board the UAS or in a pod configuration along with the LIDAR sensor. The ATR capability should be able to detect and discriminate objects of interest in near real time and communicate object type and location. Technology algorithm and processing design should be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 by the end of the Phase I project and TRL 6 by the end of Phase II. There is limited data available upon request.

PHASE I: Investigate ATR algorithms which can be included in an on-board processor for a LIDAR sensor. The algorithms will use Level-3 point clouds (see Ref. 3) from either linear mode or Geiger mode LIDAR sensors with the purpose of classification and identification (to the extent possible) of the 3D objects against a reference database.

PHASE II: Algorithms and database shall be developed for use on Open Systems Architecture hardware and software. The ATR processing will minimize the latency of the data from when the sensor collects the imagery to when the algorithms present their prediction to the aircraft communication systems for real-time distribution.

Additionally, the algorithms shall learn from the object point clouds that do not fit the database and establish new objects to be included in the database.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Apply the technology to an operational radar system and demonstrate ATR of targets.

REFERENCES:

1. Beserra Gomes, Rafael, et al. "Efficient 3D Object Recognition Using Foveated Point Clouds." Computers & Graphics 37.5 (2013): 496-508.

2. Sun, Shaohui, and Salvaggio, Carl. "Aerial 3D Building Detection and Modeling From Airborne LiDAR Point Clouds." Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, IEEE Journal of 6.3 (2013): 1440-1449.

3. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. NGA STANDARDIZATION DOCUMENT Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Sensor Model Supporting Precise Geopositioning (2011).

KEYWORDS: LIdar, LADAR, ATR, algorithms, processing, high altitude

AF161-140

TITLE: Multi-Attribute Circuit Authentication and Reliability Techniques

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Electronics

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Develop and implement integrated circuit (IC) design and analysis techniques for authentication of microelectronics throughout its lifecycle.

DESCRIPTION: As foundry services continue to become increasingly global, the supply chain, both commercially and for government interests, is increasingly less traceable. The growing proliferation of counterfeit electronics highlights a definitive need to invent design methodologies which allow real-time chip authentication, identification, and reliability monitoring. Reliability in complex mixed signal chips is directly related to the function of trustworthiness in operation of the system. The ability to aggregately monitor traits of both authenticity and reliability can provide a substantial increase in confidence of system performance. Innovative techniques are sought that allow for unique chip fingerprinting and authentication with predicative signature capability, based upon design, process, and functional test information in order to prevent safety and security incidents. The methodologies and techniques should attempt to quantitatively measure authenticity, unique identification, and reliability insight versus performance as supply chain risk management (SCRM) technologies.

Literature has provided evidence that digital, analog, analog-mixed-signal (AMS), and radio frequency (RF) circuits may be designed to exhibit unique behavior based on inherent random differences in processing and/or manufacture. Many times these types of behaviors are minimized through design in an effort to maximize yield in a process. These unique behaviors may be used to identify and group circuits of the same pedigree and provide traits for reliability monitoring. Furthermore, fingerprints, such as those found through electromagnetic test, may be able to be exploited for purposes of individual chip authentication. Current techniques do not exist that allow for trade-offs between state-of-the-art performance and authentication.

During design and implementation, consideration should be given to sensitivity analysis, properties for characterization that relate circuit behavior to device and material physics, and the development and implementation of metrics to quantify circuit performance, area overhead, power consumptions, cost, and overall risk mitigation. Techniques are sought that use configurable test state operation, advanced waveform analysis, spectrum monitoring, and built in self-test (BiST) for authentication, identification, and reliability monitoring. Techniques are sought that can provide non-destructive evaluation techniques to determine and monitor evidence of failure or degradation by extracting and monitoring a distinct signature that precedes a failure and investigate integration of on-chip monitoring through test and characterization techniques such as spectrum analysis and radiated electromagnetic (EM) signatures.

Specific circuits of interest include configurable low noise amplifiers (LNAs), voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs), phase lock loops (PLLs), and active mixers. Techniques are sought that provide less than 20 percent area overhead and less than 15 percent performance drop in key components parameters (e.g., gain, noise figure, phase noise, IIP3, P1dB etc.) as compared with state-of-the-art performance at equal power. Techniques should provide greater then 90 percent confidence in authenticity and greater than 99 percent unique identification.

PHASE I: Conduct a trade study of mixed-signal circuit topologies that have active & passive structures of particular sensitivity to process nodes. Design components that exploit sensitivity to random process variability with statistically significant difference excluding static variations. Design topology to allow for reconfigurable "test states." Output responses to be identified based on input stimulus.

PHASE II: Design and fabricate mixed-signal test structure component blocks to exploit unique spectral behavior based on process variations. Measure and characterize behavior and prove statistical difference in applied stimulus-response behavior. A subset of outputs will be quantified or quantized fingerprints of the IC. Capture and document effective test structures in a form possible for internet protocol (IP) reuse and insertion into leading commercial electronic design automation (EDA) tool suites.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The commercial IC design community is as negatively affected as the military with counterfeits in the supply chain. The mixed-signal components and techniques developed under the topic will be captured in such a way that the commercial community will be able to easily leverage the capabilities.

REFERENCES:

1. A. Sadeghi and D. Naccache (Eds). Towards Hardware-Intrinsic Security, Foundations and Practice. (Springer, Heidelberg, 2010).

2. GAO Report on Counterfeits. February 2012.

3. Nonlinear RF Circuits and Nonlinear Vector Network Analyzers. June 2011. The Cambridge RF and Microwave Engineering Series. Patrick Roblin.

4. Redefine How You Measure & Simulate Nonlinear Devices Using X-Parameters™. IMS 2010.

5. W. Zhao et al. Rigorous Extraction of Process Variations for 65-nm CMOS Design. IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, Vol 22, No.1, Feb 2009.

KEYWORDS: authentication, integrated circuits, mixed-signal

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Materials/Processes

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Develop and implement analysis tools and techniques for authentication and end of life prediction of a packaged integrated circuit (IC) at any point in its life cycle.

DESCRIPTION: Die extraction and reassembly (DER) of obsolete die from an undesired package to the required package has promise to provide quick-reaction, low-cost obsolete IC sourcing. One potential downside is that counterfeit or already used parts could be unintentionally inserted into a DoD weapon system through the DER process. Current methods to detect bad parts include physical inspection (x-ray, scannign electron microscopy (SEM), optical, Raman spectroscopy, die shear, etc.) and electrical inspection (parametric, functional, burn-in) methods which can be time consuming, tedious, and sometimes destructive.